Tag: Jean Cornelius

As I started in the reverse order from normal, part 1 looked at the red wines in Lidl Ireland’s French Wine Cellars promotion and now part 2 looks at the whites. As with the reds, Bordeaux is well represented, but Burgundy also has some decent quaffing whites for your consideration. Here are my brief notes:

Jean Cornelius Alsace Riesling 2017 (12.5%, €9.99 at Lidl Ireland)

I’ve tried and liked previous vintages of this wine. It’s straight-up, straight-forward Alsace Riesling – dry, clean and unoaked, with nice lime and lemon freshness. No, it doesn’t have the concentration of the best producers’ wines, but it makes for a nice mid week sip on its own, or with a big tureen of moules marinères.

Ask people to name a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley and the chances are they will say “Sancerre” or perhaps “Pouilly Fumé”, but the lesser-know appellations such as Touraine can be the source of very drinkable wines too – without the hefty price tags. At €7.99 this really is a bargain – it has more character than you’d expect for €10, never mind €8. Grapefruit is the theme, clean, fresh, juicy and zesty.

Château La Payrère Bordeaux Blanc 2018 (11.5%, €7.99 at Lidl Ireland)

Both the dry and sweet wines of Bordeaux usually feature Sauvignon Blanc, with or without companions Semillon, Muscadelle or even Sauvignon Gris. This dry Bordeaux Blanc has a lovely fragrant nose with green pepper and gooseberry – all suggesting a large proportion of Sauvignon. Fairly light in alcohol, this is another great sunshine sipper or pair with a fancy salad.

The Bordelais love drinking white Graves as it means they don’t have to resort to whites from the other place – Burgundy! As with the reds, the best Graves whites are made in the separate sub-appellation of Pessac-Léognan, but the Graves AOC has plenty ot offer. This Château Rivière Lacoste is quite rich for a white Bordeaux – white possibly some Semillon in the blend adding texture and some stone fruit notes.

Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune 2016 (12.5%, €14.99 at Lidl Ireland)

The Hautes Côtes de Beaune – like their counterpart the Hautes Côtes de Nuits – come from the upper slopes of the ridge running down the middle of Burgundy. Most of the “fine wine” is further down the slopes, but climate change and better winemaking has significantly improved the quality of wines from these more exposed areas. The first sniff is greeted with a lovely oaky nose, and a taste reveals great texture and mouthfeel, broad but fresh. It’s very nice now but would benefit from another six months’ rest before being enjoyed.

Collin-Bourisset Mâcon-Villages 2017 (13.0%, €9.99 at Lidl Ireland)

The Mâconnais is the most southerly sub-region of Burgundy proper, and with the more southerly latitude comes more heat and sunshine. This results in wines which are somewhat New World in style – and that’s what we have here. This Mâcon-Villages is quite tropical and broad, but wears no new oak. Swirl this in a big glass and don’t drink too cold.

De Oliveira Lecestre Chablis 2017 (13.0%, €17.99 at Lidl Ireland)

Chablis has a certain cachet so its wines are never cheap. They can be good value, although for me the best value is usually up at Premier and Grand Cru level. AOC Chablis is nearly always unoaked and mineral which this example from De Oliveira Lecestre is, but unlike poor Chablis it isn’t lean or austere. Instead it’s chalky, mineral, and fresh, a great way to try Chablis at a reasonable cost.

Val de Salis Pays d’Oc Chardonnay 2017 (13.5%, €8.99 at Lidl Ireland)

This is the first Chardonnay in this article which isn’t from Burgundy, and it shows – it’s very different in style from all the others above. It has more body and texture, and a definite herbal edge (not uncommon in Languedoc wines). Try with prawns in garlic and herbs, and save a glass for the chef!

As in previous years Lidl Ireland are having a French wine sale this autumn, starting on 25th September. “Sale” means different things to different people – here it doesn’t mean price reductions on existing lines but rather a limited release of certain French wines which aren’t all sale all year round.

The wines come from several different regions including Bordeaux, Rhône valley, the Loire, the Languedoc and Burgundy; but of course I have chosen to focus on my favourite white wine region of the world, Alsace!

Disclosure: samples kindly provided for review

Jean Cornelius Alsace Sylvaner 2016 (12.0%, €8.99 at Lidl Ireland)

Sylvaner is often looked down upon as one of the poor relations in Alsace, though that has much to do with grape farmers being paid for quantity rather than quality – Sylvaner can produce high yields but becomes dilute and lacking in flavour. In the hands of a good vigneron it can produce good wines, though it’s more of a quaffing wine than one for contemplation.

This Jean Cornelius 2016 is a great introduction to the grape, if you didn’t know it before. It’s clean, unoaked and dry, which are all normal for Sylvaner in Alsace, despite misconceptions about the bottle shape (don’t mention the “L word”!) If you like Riesling and Pinot Blanc or unoaked Chardonnay then give this a try, as it sits somewhere in the middle of them flavour-wise – there’s a touch of apple and a touch of citrus, making it great for shellfish, subtle fish dishes or as an aperitif – went great with green olives!

Jean Cornelius Alsace Pinot Blanc 2016 (12.0%, €8.99 at Lidl Ireland)

Pinot Blanc is the great all-rounder of Alsace; it’s fruity and supple, rarely austere (which Riesling can be) but not as exotic as Gewurztraminer (see below) or its sibling Pinot Gris. In fact there’s a trick which Alsace producers can use – other grapes! Now they can’t just put any old grapes in, but a dash of Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir (without skin contact of course) or Auxerrois is permitted.

Crunchy appleand pearare the key flavours here. As the wine warms a little in your glass it goes from Granny Smith to Golden Delicious, but always finishes dry and crips.

Gewurztraminer – more easily shortened to Gewurz – is very different from most other grapes. It’s highly aromatic and has a distinctive exotic perfume that can divide drinkers (a true “Marmite grape”). Due to the ease with which the variety produces sugar it is often made somewhat sweet – on the listing I received this wine is described as moelleux i.e. sweet, but it isn’t classified as either Vendange Tardive or Sélection de Grains Nobles which are the Alsace terms for certain classes of sweet wines.

And on pouring this revealed itself to be a typical Gewurz – rose petals and Turkish delight. There’s a little fruit sweetness which adds to the round flavours in your mouth, but it finishes perfectly dry – in fact there’s even a little acidity on the finish, something which isn’t always associated with Gewurz.

These wines won’t set the world alight, but they are a great introduction to the wines of Alsace and are good representatives of their varieties.